Fabrication and Optical Characterization of VO2-Based Thin Films Deposited on Practical Float Glass by Magnetron Sputtering and Professional Annealing

Abstract

In this paper, VO2 thin films with good optical properties are fabricated on practical float glass by magnetron sputtering and a professional annealing method. The near-infrared switching efficiency (NIRSE) of the prepared film reaches 39% (@2000 nm), and its near-infrared energy modulation ability (ΔTir) reaches 10.9% (780–2500 nm). Further, the highest integral visible transmittance Tlum is 63%. The proposed method exhibits good reproducibility and does not cause any heat damage to the magnetron sputtering machine. The crystalline structure of the VO2 film is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The lattice planes (011) and (−211) grow preferentially (JCPDS 65-2358), and a large number of NaV2O5 crystals are detected simultaneously. The microstructures are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a large number of long sheet crystals are identified. The phase transition temperature is significantly reduced by an appropriate W doping concentration (Tc = 29 °C), whereas excessive W doping causes distortion of the thermal hysteresis loop and a reduction in the NIRSE. Oxygen vacancies are created by low pressure annealing, due to which the phase transition temperature of VO2 film decreases by 8 °C. The addition of an intermediate SiO2 layer can prevent the diffusion of Na+ ions and affect the preparation process of the VO2 thin film.